To Love in Troubled Times
by SwtSimplicity
Summary: Draco discovers that his financial inheritance from his father may completely change his life with Harry, and not for the better. Slash, sexual content, flangst, vulgar language.
1. Trouble is Brewed

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter and his world are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, Scholastic and Warner Brothers. I merely take Harry and Draco out to play. I own nothing but the plot.

**Warnings: **Slash. Vulgar language.

**Author's Note:** This will be a chaptered story. I will be updating this regularly. I'm not going to promise a frequency rate because real life have the nasty habit of throwing that off. Comments, suggestions and constructive criticisms are welcomed. Happy reading!

**Trouble is Brewed**

Harry sighed wearily as he trudged towards the designated Apparition points outside of the Ministry of Magic. It had been one of _those_ days in Auror Training; three gruelling practice raids in the morning followed by an afternoon of a series of lectures on Stealth, Defence, and Dark Arts. Harry was glad that his training for the day was over; his body ached, his brain overwhelmed, and his eyelids were starting to feel heavy. He was very much looking forward to spending the evening at home with Draco. Draco would know how to tend to his bruises and cuts garnered from the practice raids, and he would have a way of helping Harry to sort, analyze, and remember information and material from the lectures. Not to mention, Draco was an excellent cook and would treat Harry to a delicious dinner. Harry smiled as he pictured the two of them cuddling in front of the fireplace enjoying tea while swapping work stories and other anecdotal tales of the day. With that thought in mind, Harry located an Apparition point just outside the main entrance, turned on the spot, and was on his way home.

With a soft _crack_, Harry appeared out of thin air and was standing in the foyer of the house that he shared with Draco. They had bought the house together a year into their relationship, and have been living together for the past two years. The house was an amalgamation of both of their tastes, style and personalities. Gryffindor red was interweaved with Slytherin silver in the decor, Muggle appliances ran on magic, and Harry's sloppily folded clothes can be found alongside with Draco's neatly folded ones. A wizarding picture showing Harry and Draco kissing each other was placed in the centre of the mantelpiece, with pictures of their respective friends and families flanking either side of the picture. Kicking off his shoes, Harry paused to take a fond look at the picture before finding Draco. They had taken the picture on their first vacation together as a couple, and looking at the picture always reminded Harry of the blessing and joy of having Draco in his life.

"Draco?" Harry called out as he entered the kitchen, but no response came to him. Draco was not in the kitchen, which Harry found to be a bit odd. Draco insisted that cooking them dinner is part of his daily routine, and without fail, Harry would find Draco cooking up a storm after he arrived home from Auror Training every day. Today, however, seemed to be the exception to Draco's routine.

_Draco had mentioned at breakfast that he was going out to tend business this afternoon but that he would be back for dinner, _Harry thought to himself as he exited the kitchen_, so either he got caught up with something at the store, or something else happened_. Draco co-owned The Perfect Potion, an Apothecary and Potion store in Diagon Alley, with his business partner Blaise Zabini. Draco's primary job is to maintain the potion stock in the store; being the proficient Potions Master that he is, Draco had no trouble with keeping pace in brewing up various potions, draughts, and elixirs to satisfy the demands of the witches and wizards in London. Following that particular train of thought, Harry went downstairs and peeked into Draco's potion lab. Nope, no sign of the blond there either.

Deciding to confirm Draco's presence or absence at The Perfect Potion before continuing his search, Harry knelt by the fireplace, tossed a handful of Floo Powder into the fire, called out "The Perfect Potion!" and stuck his head into the glowing green flames. After the familiar dizzying sensations that accompanied Floo travel settled, Harry found himself looking at the tiny house elf working at The Perfect Potion.

"Tilly has come to receive your Floo call Mr. Harry Potter, sir. May Tilly be of assistance?" The elf squeaked, bowing low.

"Yes, erm, Tilly, have you seen Mr. Malfoy today? Did he come to the store?"

"Yes, Tilly helped Mr. Malfoy to stock the potions shelves today, sir. Mr. Malfoy is a most talented Potions Master, sir, and he has brewed many potions for stocking shelves and he delivered the latest batches this afternoon, sir. We were about to start stocking the Dreamless Sleep shelf together and then he received an owl, and he left. I finished the stocking the shelves with Mr. Zabini."

"Ah. So he left then. At about what time did he leave Tilly? Do you know where he went? I'm trying to figure out where he is, so any help that you can give me would be great."

"I believe Mr. Malfoy departed at quarter to five. Tilly heard Mr. Malfoy cursing at the letter delivered to him, but Tilly does not know where Mr. Malfoy went afterwards."

"Alright, thanks Tilly. Is Mr. Zabini at the store?"

"No, sir, Mr. Zabini left about half an hour ago. Perhaps you can reach Mr. Zabini at his house? Tilly is sorry she is unable to provide any further assistance."

"It's alright Tilly. Thanks for what you told me."

"It's a pleasure. Good night Mr. Potter, sir." Tilly bowed again as Harry ended their Floo connection.

Pulling his head out from the fire, Harry regrouped his thoughts with the new information that the elf gave him. So Draco had been to the store, and while tending business, had received a letter by owl that required his immediate attention, left the store….but to where? That was the mystery to be solved. Zabini was one of Draco's best mates, and there was a chance that Draco had shared with Zabini what the letter was all about, and that Zabini may know where Draco was. Sticking his head into the fire for the second time that night, Harry made a Floo call to the Zabini household.

And for the second time that night, Harry was greeted by a house elf receiving his Floo call.

"Welcome to the Zabini household. Merca is pleased to be of assistance to you." The Zabini house boomed in his loud, tenor voice, bowing to greet Harry.

"Uh...thanks. May I speak with Blaise Zabini please? Tell him it's Harry Potter calling regarding Draco Malfoy, and that it's urgent that he takes this call."

"Alright. I will fetch Master at once. Please wait while I am fetching Master" The elf then disappeared from Harry's view, but Harry could hear the loud booming voice of Merca echoing down the hallway. Soon, the voice of Blaise Zabini joined the echoes of Merca, and his face came into view as he knelt down to speak with Harry at face level.

"Potter! Good evening. You're wondering where Draco is right now?" Never the one to mince words, Blaise cut to the chase right away.

"I just Floo called the shop, and your elf, Tilly, informed me of Draco leaving the store upon receiving a letter by owl. Tilly also informed me that Draco wasn't…pleased with the letter when he left. I am looking for him, and I was wondering if you'd have any idea where Draco might be."

"Draco received a letter from Gringotts today informing him of some finer points of the finances and assets that he had inherited from Lucius Malfoy upon him receiving the Kiss—"

"Lucius Malfoy was Kissed four years ago, immediately after the war. What do you mean by 'finer points'? All the documentations and paperwork had been done four years ago!"

"—be as that may Potter, Gringotts have recently uncovered some things related to the finances and assets that Draco inherited from his father that are not…entirely pretty. I'm afraid what they uncovered may cause Draco troubles in the foreseeable future and beyond."

"What ARE they then, do you know Zabini? Do you know where Draco went? Come on, you're one of his best mate, he must've told you something, anything!" Harry was starting to really worry about Draco. Knowing Malfoy senior, the finer points associated with the finances and assets may be more sinister than Harry cared to imagine at this point.

"Potter, while Draco and I do share a lot of things, you must know that Draco is a private person. I do not actually know what Gringotts have uncovered exactly, other than what Draco said, and I quote him, 'can't believe my fucking Father thought it would be a good idea to do what he did. Now I am fucking fucked by my fucking Father's fucking idiocy. Fucking Father for trying to fuck around with stuff like that. You can't fuck around with stuff like that. Fucking hell' I do not know what the stuff he mentioned entitled, nor do I know where he is right now. I guessed that he may have went to Gringotts to try to sort things out, but knowing Draco, sorting things out isn't something he'd do when he's all fired up like this."

"So you have NO idea where Draco is right now? What kind of a friend ARE you to him Zabini?" Harry hadn't meant to direct his anger and frustration at Zabini, but with nowhere else to vent, Zabini was the unfortunate target.

"Potter. Do calm down—"Blaise held up a hand to stop Harry from protesting further "—I know you're worried about Draco. I am too. I've been Draco's friend long enough to know how Draco handles unexpected stressors like this. You vent your feelings by yelling and screaming, Draco does it by drinking himself to oblivion. I would hazard a guess that Draco is in his favourite bar right now, downing his sorrows in pints after pints and drinks after drinks."

"Sorry about the outburst…it wasn't about you," Harry had the grace to look sheepish here "I was just worried about Draco. What is Draco's favourite bar? I will go and collect him. I don't want him to do anything he may regret."

"Merlin's Magical Drinks. And trust me when I say this Potter, Draco is very vulnerable during and after his drinking binges. Please don't try to force anything out of him. He'll tell you all about it in his own time and accord. Just take good care of him. Draco may never admit this to you, but he sees you as family and trusts you with his secrets. You're about the only person he trusts with all of his secrets. Just don't force him to tell you anything, please. If you need help, send a call my way and I'll be there."

"Thanks Zabini."

After ending the call with Blaise, Harry threw on a travelling cloak, tied on his shoes and left through the front entrance of the house. Focusing on Merlin's Magical Drinks, Harry turned on the spot, feeling the sensation of being squeezed by thin air enveloping him. Harry stumbled as he landed in what had to be the entrance of the bar, with the strong smell of alcohol wafting through the doors. Harry pushed open the doors, scanning the scene before him for the familiar head of platinum blond hair. Harry spotted him sitting on a bar stool, downing a colourful drink. Harry then made his way across the crowd to join Draco.

"Draco? Let's go home now." Harry said as he sat on the stool next to Draco's.

"Harry? You came for me. Wow. I sure love you. No we're not going home. I'm fucked up. By my own fucking Father. I'm fucking fucked up Harry. Fucked up. Very fucking fucked up. Fucking fuck my fucking Father for fucking around stuff like that. You don't fuck around things like that." Draco slurred as he tried to focus his attention on Harry.

"Shh…it's alright Draco. Whatever it is, we'll get through together. I'll help you out. But now, let's go home"

"No Harry, I'm fucked up….I"m so fucked that I don't think you can help me out here. I may lose you if you help me out. And I can't lose you. Harry I love you too much for that. I don't want you hurt because of me…I love you Harry. I can't lose you." With that, Draco started sobbing into Harry's shoulder.

Harry held onto Draco as he sobbed, rubbing his back as he rocked him in their corner of the noisy bar. Whatever it was that was troubling Draco, Harry swore that he would make it right. Nobody hurt Draco like this and get away with it.


	2. Sitrring the Pot

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter and his world are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, Scholastic and Warner Brothers. I merely take Harry and Draco out to play. I own nothing but the plot.

**Warnings: **Slash. Hurt/Comfort.

**Author's Note:** Thank you to those who put me on their list of fics to follow =) Tentatively, I think I am going to update this fic on a monthly basis (I know I said I won't promise a frequency, but I think I owe it to my readers to know when to expect a new chapter). Sorry if this chapter isn't too terribly exciting…feel free to make suggestions for the fic. Happy reading!

**Stirring the Pot**

A man stood in the alleyway next to The Leaky Cauldron, waiting for his companion to arrive. The man was dressed in a simple black travelling cloak, and his hands were clutching onto a briefcase. There was nothing remarkable about the man's facial features—dark brown eyes, a straight nose, and a mouth set in a line. The man certainly hoped that he isn't attracting any attention to himself, and that nobody deemed him interesting enough to warrant a second glance. He wanted to blend seamlessly and anonymously into the busy Friday crowd gathered in Diagon Alley, and so far, his plan seemed to be working.

"Almost couldn't recognize you out here, you sly dog," a voice drawled.

The man turned around, and in front of him stood the companion that he has been waiting for. The other man also wore a simple black travelling cloak over his clothing, but on his feet were red dragon skin boots. He also wore a matching red scarf. Rings with precious and semi-precious stone adorn his fingers, and around his neck, a heavy silver chain adorn with a snake.

"Aren't you…being a bit too obvious?" the first man asked.

"Nonsense, you wanted us to be able to blend into the crowd, and so I dressed the part. I look fit for a night at the pub, too bad I can't say the same about you." the second man replied.

"Clovis, you know that we're not out for a night in the pub! I don't want ANYBODY to give us a second a glance, as you know the topic of discussion tonight is highly confidential and sensitive and if anybody gets any word of it, we're both doomed."

"As usual, you are just too paranoid. But alright, whatever, have things your way, Almeric," and here, the man named Clovis threw up his hands in mock defeat, "Where to?"

"There's a bar in Muggle London not far from here. I thought we could go there to discuss things tonight,"

"Alm, you know Muggles serve plebeian drinks. The stuff that they pride themselves on tastes like shit. And they leave a horrible after taste in your mouth. And the Muggle servers all want too much tips, and the women working there seem to think that their lack of assets is something really worth looking at. You want us to discuss the situation in a hell hole like that? Don't you have any fine pureblood taste in you? "

"I don't want to be overheard, and Muggles won't know what we're talking about anyway. And you can always discretely change your drinks. Stop complaining. Either we do things my way, or we're not doing anything at all. And you won't get any of the nice rewards."

"Alright alright alright. Kick me where it hurts. To the plebeian Muggle pub it is. Although I don't know why you want to be so hush hush about the whole thing. We aren't exactly doing anything wrong, technicality aside. The Malfoy boy would've already received his fate by owl this afternoon."

"Do not mention the name! We will discuss things at the bar" Almeric hissed at Clovis, grabbed his wrist, and with a turn, the pair was gone.

Harry watched his boyfriend toss and turn in his sleep, wondering for the millionth time what the news from Gringotts was. It must have been something devastating—Harry had not seen his boyfriend so upset before. Harry had never seen the look of absolute despair, loss and hurt in Draco's beautiful stormy grey eyes before, Harry had never heard those heart-wrenching sobs from Draco before, and Harry had never felt more helpless while rocking Draco and comforting him.

Somehow, Harry had managed to stay strong for Draco as Draco held onto Harry. Somehow, Harry had managed to convince Draco that there was a solution, a lifeline, somewhere out there for whatever Draco was going through. Mostly importantly, Harry had managed to convince Draco that all was not lost, and that he would be always by Draco's side, no matter what happened.

Now Harry could only hope that he would be able to deliver the promised assurances to Draco.

The bed creaked and Harry focused his attention back to Draco. After Harry's arrival to the bar, Draco had proceeded to down drinks after drinks and pints after pints. It was a testament to how much Draco had drank when the Harry picked up Draco's tab and the figure was more than what Harry had ever imagined possible. After Draco drank himself into a stupor, Harry had Apparated them both back to their house. Draco then promptly vomited in the foyer, and passed out in his own vomit. Harry then magicked Draco clean, changed Draco out of his dirty clothes, and levitated him to the bed in their bedroom. After making sure that Draco was comfortably tucked under the comforter, Harry had sat by the bedside, ready to tend to Draco's every need.

"Harry…?" Draco croaked, his voice rough and coarse.

"Yes love?" Harry had moved closer to Draco, intertwining their fingers together "I'm here."

"Hurts…" Draco opened his eyes, searching for Harry. He was pushing himself up to a sitting position "Really hurts…"

"What hurts my love? I have some Pain Potion ready, and a vial of Hangover Potion too" Harry hooked his arm underneath Draco's and helped him with sitting up in bed.

"My head…feels like it's going to explode. The lighting is too bright in here. I want to cuddle you honey. Harry…" Draco sat up in bed, but vomited on the sheets as a wave of nausea hit him "…I'm so sorry. I'm such a mess right now. A failure."

"That's alright Dray, don't worry about the sheets. I can clean them—" Harry waved his wand, casted a nonverbal _Evanesco _and _Scourgify_ , and the sheets were good as new "—and I will get you the Pain Potion and the Hangover Potion right now love. I will be back, Iove." Harry then carefully extricated himself from Draco to fetch the potions from the kitchen cabinet.

When Harry returned back to the room, he found Draco crying into the sheets, trying to muffle his sobs. Harry's heart clenched at the sight—Draco was so vulnerable and so fragile right now that all Harry wanted to do was to fix whatever it was bothering Draco. Harry had promised Draco that he'd take care of him, and to provide him with happiness for the rest of his life when they had gotten together, and Harry intend to go through with the promise.

Putting the potions on the dresser, Harry gathered Draco in his arms, and held onto him as Draco cried. Harry patted Draco on the back, whispered sweet nothings into Draco's ears, and kissed Draco's tears away. Harry continued holding onto Draco long after the sobs subsided, wanting to surround Draco with his love and comfort. Harry cuddled Draco in silence, holding onto Draco, wanting Draco to know from his actions that Harry loved him dearly, and would be by his side in dealing with whatever the news was.

"Harry?" Draco asked, his voice muffled by Harry's shirt.

"Yes love?"

"I think I'm ready for the potions now, and then, I think we need to talk."

Harry poured a dose of Pain Potion for Draco, cozied up to Draco in bed, and waited for Draco to start talking. While he would very much like to initiate the conversation, Zabini's words echoed in Harry's head. Harry would not want to push Draco to talk when he is not ready, and after seeing how vulnerable Draco is in his current state, Harry did not want Draco to feel obliged to tell him anything. Sure, Harry wanted to know what was bothering his boyfriend, but he did not want to force Draco to do anything that he didn't want to do. After several long minutes of silence, Draco started talking.

"You know…telling you all this will be difficult for me Harry. I don't normally like to…air my dirty laundry, so to speak. I have my Malfoy pride, although I am not too terribly proud to be a Malfoy right now. My Father…was what he was. My Mother…I think she tried to be doting mother to me and loving, supportive wife to my Father, but there was only so much she could do…Hold me please Harry, I need your strength for this. I can't do this on my own…"

Harry wrapped his arms around Draco, and rested his head on Draco's shoulder. Draco leaned back into Harry and continued talking.

"Thanks love…now, as you know, after the War, Father was convicted to a life sentence to Azkaban and he was to receive the Kiss immediately upon his arrival. He was Kissed, and just like that, I was now the new master of the Malfoy money, assets and land. Father left me a considerable amount of things to attend to—Father may be stingy with his money, but he sure knew how to invest and have a grand fortune all for himself. Too bad he never got around to using any of that, which is not a shame at all. I wouldn't want him to lord over anybody anymore just because he has money."

"And so I inherited his money. I didn't want to deal with it. I was perfectly happy to just donate everything away—I had my own money from The Perfect Potion, and I didn't need or want to tend to Father's business. As far as I'm concerned, he stopped being my Father when he forced me to get in ranks with Lord Voldemort. What kind of father gives his son to the Dark Lord when there was nothing but death and torture to be gained from it? My Father considered it the height of honour that he was offering his only son for service with the Dark Lord. I considered it as a low blow to get on the Dark Lord's good side after losing his credit with the Voldemort."

Draco paused to compose himself before finishing his tale.

"I should've listened to my gut feeling about not tending to Father's assets. I only took care of Father's assets because of Mother. Without Father's money, Mother had no money to spend, as by wizarding law, a woman is to be given money by her father prior to getting married and by her husband after getting married. My Father's assets and money was the only source of income my Mother can get. As Father is not dead yet, just soulless, she was tied to his fortunes."

"And so I took care of Father's assets for Mother. I didn't touch one single Knut of it. As far as I was concerned, they were Mother's money now. I was just merely responsible for handing the transactions and for making decisions with regards to investments and other financial decisions. It went relatively well until now. I had no idea that my Father was such a callous, soulless man. The Dementors guarding him have more soul that he ever will."

"You see, Harry, every month, a large sum of money would appear in my Father's account. I didn't know what it was for, who it was from, or even where it was from. But like clockwork, at the beginning of each month, a large sum of money would be deposited into the account. I asked Mother, and she didn't know, but guessed that it must have been the profit for some of his venture. Father had many ventures for monetary gain on the side, and I didn't take too much notice of it."

"That is, until now. Gringotts received intelligence that the large sum of money that appeared each month in the vault was indeed one of Father's ventures…but it wasn't your typical business venture. You see, from the evidence that Gringotts was able to gather, Father scammed innocent witches and wizards of their money, and the money that comes into the vault at the beginning of each month is the monthly "payment" to my Father from the vaults of the people he scammed. After uncovering this, Gringotts now requests that I pay the sum of money of all back, plus any interest that have accumulated on the scammed money. I am officially ruined by my fucking Father. "

Harry was puzzled. How was Draco ruined? Surely, there must be a way around that. There's got to be. Draco wasn't the one to incur the money from scamming, Lucius was. And if they need to pay the money back…the sum may be large, but surely, between the two of them, they can cover the tab?

"Dray, I can help you pay the money back, and I can ask Hermione to help you with the legal side of things. There isn't a single thing Hermione can't make right." Harry looked expectantly at his boyfriend, expecting Draco to add to his plan.

"No Harry, I'm ruined. And if you help me, you will be ruined too. There isn't a thing that Hermione can do for me. I've read the contract myself. I had taken over Father's vault, what was his is now mine. And that includes the scam money." Draco paused, rubbed his forehead tiredly before locking his eyes with Harry's.

"And the amount of money that I now owe is ten times the money in both our vaults and the value of this house."


	3. Adding Ingredients to the Mix

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and his world are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, Scholastic and Warner Brothers. I merely take Harry and Draco out to play. I own nothing but the plot.

**Warnings:** Slash. Hurt/Comfort. Implied lemon.

**Author's Note: **Huge apology for the super long delay in posting this chapter up…real life got in the way, and setting up a new internet connection at my new place turned out to be quite the hassle. Hopefully the longer than usual chapter will make up for the delay! Next chapter should be up within a month's time. Again, kudos to all those who are following this story, you guys make writing fun =) Feel free to leave feedbacks, but no flames please. I'm thinking about making this fic more interactive by posting polls at the end of each chapter for you guys to guide where the next chapter will be going, what do you guys think about that? Leave your replies in a comment please. Happy reading!

**Adding Ingredients to the Mix**

"But Hermione, there's got to be _something_, anything! A loophole, an open clause, fine prints, a conditional agreement, something that opens a way out for Draco!" Harry pleaded, looking across the table at Hermione Granger-Weasley, one of his best friends from his Hogwarts days.

Hermione looked back at Harry with sympathy. When Harry had fire called her the previous night and arranged to catch up over drinks at the Leaky Cauldron after work, she had expected a light hearted chat and laughter whilst enjoying Butterbeer and pastries, not a serious heart to heart. She definitely had not expected Harry to whip the Gringotts document that he had no doubt wrestled from Draco's grasp, and proceeded to solicit her help on finding a way to absolve Draco of his financial ties to the senior Malfoy's vaults. She glanced at the documents again and knew that while it may be possible to open a way out for Draco, it would be extremely slim.

"Harry, I'm not saying that it's impossible to get Draco out of this nasty trap that Malfoy senior had set for him; if I study these paperwork in depth some, I may be able to find something. However I just want you to know that the process will not be easy…to borrow a Quidditch saying, the process will be full of Bludgers to dodge. And Harry...I want you to know that it may not be successful at the end. From my quick glance at the legalese of the documents, Draco Is set in the binding contract fairly deep…"

"Hermione, you're the youngest barrister to be sworn into the Ministry's Wizengamot panel. You're still the brightest witch I know, if anyone can turn this around, it would be you. Please Hermione, help Draco, help him, please. You're my only hope in this." Harry begged.

Harry had seek Hermione's help as he knew that if Draco were to have any sorts of odds in absolving his financial responsibility, Hermione is the only one who would be able to do anything for him. He had seen Hermione crack contracts that were sealed air tight and he had seen the way Hermione argue her way in the Ministry courts for unfair cases. All Harry knew was that if Hermione can't help them, then nobody could. He didn't want to entertain that train of thought any longer than he had to.

From her work as a barrister, Hermione knew that no contracts were absolute and fool proof; there was always something that can be teased apart and tugged at. But the hard part was finding that loose thread, and knowing Malfoy senior, he would've made that thread short and neat, and nearly impossible to find. However, she also believed that justice and truth prevail in any circumstances, and if she had to comb the paperwork with a fine tooth comb and argue her way against Gringotts goblins into absolving Draco from the paperwork, she would. But she had to let Harry know that she cannot guarantee anything at this stage, and that she may not be successful.

"Harry, I will help you and Draco—"

"—Thanks Hermione, you're the best, thank you SO much. I don't know how we would ever thank you if this goes through, but either way, you're the best. Thank you thank you thank you,"

"—Thanks Harry, but I just want to make very clear that I cannot guarantee you anything right now other than I'll have a look at the documents and see if I can find a thread to tease and tug at, and to try to unravel that if I'm able to. I do not want to get your hopes too high Harry. While it is true that ALL contracts will have a thread that can be tugged at, not all of those threads can be unravel ed. What I want you to know is that I will try my best to do something for Draco, but there's a high chance that I won't be able to find anything. I just want you and Draco to be prepared for that eventuality,"

Harry looked at Hermione and carefully considered her words. If Hermione is unsuccessful in the endeavour to absolve Draco's bind in the senior Malfoy's financial trap, not only would he and Draco find themselves financially ruined, but they would have to find a means of repaying back the colossal amount of debt that Gringotts decreed Draco owe the bank. In addition to the financial side of things, should Hermione fail in absolving Draco's bind, the efforts that Draco had put into rebuilding the Malfoy name and reputation would amount to nothing. When Draco had told Harry the mess of a situation that he is in, Harry had vowed to himself that he would help Draco in any means possible, even if that meant going bankrupt and having his name and reputation tarnished too.

"Hermione, I know what I'm getting myself into. Draco and I, we both know what the consequences of not absolving the contract are. When I got together with Draco, I promised Draco that I would take care of him, and support him, and to provide him with happiness for the rest of his life as long as we're together. I intend to go through with that. I know that we may both be financially ruined because of the contract, and that both our names and reputations will be tarnished beyond believe, but Hermione, those things don't matter to me. I love Draco, and I'm prepared to go through this ordeal with him, no matter the outcome," Harry said, blinking back tears and swallowing the lump that had form in his throat.

Hermione was taken aback by Harry's declaration of affection for Draco. Harry was never the one to talk about his relationship with Draco in such a candid manner—Harry was a private person, and he never divulged much regarding his personal life with Draco, even with his two best friends. Hermione knew that Draco was an important figure in Harry's life, and that they were in a serious relationship, but until Harry had said what he just said, Hermione hadn't entertained the depth of emotional attachment and respect that Harry had for Draco.

"I'm glad that you are such a good partner to Draco, Harry. I will help both of you to the best of my ability. I'll take the documents home to read it thoroughly and update you with any new findings. I'll keep in touch with you Harry, and please take care of both yourself and Draco,"

Standing up and handing the papers over to Hermione, Harry pulled her into a hug and was, not the first time, grateful that he and Ron had saved Hermione from the troll in the bathroom during their first year and forged a lifetime friendship with her.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"Clovis, no, we cannot just launch our plan like that. Sure the Malfoy boy had received his fate yesterday, but as we discussed yesterday in the pub, it is not prudent to just act out on our plan impulsively without some fore thinking and planning! Use some common sense and judgement instead of your incompetence alright?" Almeric said, pinning his companion with what he hoped was a stern stare while taking a swig from his bottle of Firewhiskey.

"Almeric, you're just too damn paranoid and shit like that like. What can go wrong? We go and kidnap the boy, make him give us access to all his vaults, we nip the money that is rightfully ours, and what can the boy do? We're just taking what's ours and in case you had forgotten, that Lucius scumbag had promised us return money for setting up the scam. And did we ever get any of those monthly payments that he promised? No, because why? Because they all went to his vault! We're just taking what's ours, and having a little bit of fun with the Malfoy boy, that's all," Clovis replied, swishing the contents of his drink.

"Must I remind you that the Malfoy boy is in a relationship with Harry Potter? If we attempt any shit, you bet Potter will be involved, and then the Aurors will be involved. Potter may be just a trainee at the Auror camp, but you bet he is their star pupil and future Head Auror, and the Ministry likes to cover the butts of their rising stars. Having Aurors will complicate things, so let's just lie low and refine our plan a little bit before we launch it on the road. Do use your brain once in a while, Clovis,"

"If by lying low you mean having us hide in the basements of decrepit Muggle houses to discuss business, I'm not sure if going with your plan is any better. A wizard's gotta have a sense of self and taste you know Almeric, and lying and waiting in these filthy Muggle places isn't going to get the job done. And we're not exactly committing a crime or anything like that. Think of it as the Malfoy boy repaying his debt to us. Is repaying debt a crime in wizarding law? I don't think so Almeric, so stop treating this as if we are committing some kind of big wizarding crime."

"Clovis, how many times do I have to tell you, I want this to go without a hitch, and to do that, we need to do some planning and thinking for taking back our money. And must I remind you, the less attention we draw to ourselves, the better," Almeric stated, lighting up a cigar.

"This is all just a waste of time because you're too wimpy to go and take back what's ours, Alm. All this talking is just that, talk. We need to put some action into it too you know. The sooner, the better. You used to be fun Alm, before you got all grown up and serious with all this bullshit talk about planning. Lighten up Alm,

"Clovis, we're both fugitives from the law right now. We cannot afford any slip ups, that is, unless you prefer a cell in Azkaban over a room in an unoccupied Muggle house. So if you want the dough, you need to get with the program and get planning. The first thing we need to do is get Potter out of the picture somehow…"

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Harry hummed as he set the table for dinner, adjusting the candles on the table to cast a warm glow on the food. Normally dinner preparation was Draco's domain, but Harry thought he'd surprise Draco with a romantic evening, to take Draco's mind off the fiasco with Gringotts. He would eventually tell Draco of Hermione's involvement in his cause, but not tonight. Tonight was about the two of them, and nothing else. Standing back to look at the table arrangement and deeming it perfect to Draco's standard, Harry then threw a quick Stasis charm on the food and proceeded to the living room to wait for Draco's arrival.

While waiting for Draco's arrival, Harry pondered on his relationship with Draco. They had been dating for seven years now, and while the relationship hasn't always been smooth sailing, Harry was certain that Draco was the man in his life. While he had never directly mentioned it to Draco, Harry considered Draco part of his family, akin to the Weasleys. He hopes to officially make Draco a part of his family one day, but he wasn't sure how to broach the topic with Draco. He wanted to marry Draco, but wasn't sure how Draco felt about a commitment of that magnitude.

_After the war, Harry had picked up his relationship with Ginny on where they left it off in his sixth year. She was fun, smart, and spunky and had a fiery personality that intrigued Harry. They were both young and ready to take on the post-war wizarding world. She provided an anchor to his temper, and he provided her with stability and companionship in her life. And for a while, things were working out splendidly between the two of them. And it may have led to a more serious relationship too, if Harry hadn't balked every time he and Ginny were being physically intimate._

_Despite his hesitation towards physical intimacy with Ginny, Harry had continued his relationship with Ginny for a year before he realized that he wasn't attracted to girls in general. While Ron would admire girls in bars when they went out for drinks, Harry would find himself wondering what Ron saw in the girls that he was admiring from afar. Boobs and girl bits just didn't attract Harry; he found them to be as mundane as any other body part on a girl. By chance one day, Ron and Harry decided to pay a visit to the new gay bar that had opened up in Diagon Alley, where Harry soon discovered that he was aroused by the men performing on the stage at the bar and by gay couples displaying their affection for one another. Harry had left the bar that night with some important new self-discovery and reflections._

_Harry had ended his relationship with Ginny soon after that night at the gay bar; it wasn't fair to her to have such a one sided relationship. Ginny had reacted to the news by completely pushing Harry out of her life for the period following their break up. The Weasley had taken the news far better than Ginny had, and Molly had even taken it upon herself to play matchmaker for Harry. Despite Molly's best interest, Harry found that most of the blokes who agreed to date him were only interested in his fame and fortune, and not for who he is. For a while, Harry was convinced that he would not be able to find happiness in a relationship, what with his scar forever preceding his personality._

_It was by chance that he was reacquainted with Draco Malfoy, his former childhood rival, at a Ministry function. Harry had always detest attending those functions; he was always required to put in appearance and a speech, to show that he was approving of the rebuilding efforts that the Ministry was putting forth. After his public parting with the Ministry in his fifth year, the Ministry was desperate to be in Harry's good side after the war, to seek forgiveness and to prove that they were willing to put the past behind them. It was good on parchment, but Harry was a little weary of attending too many Ministry functions and public affairs—he didn't want to be the poster boy for the Ministry, regardless of whether the Ministry had changed for the better or not._

_Draco, for his part, had become a Potion Master, and had obtained a temporary job in the Potion department in the Ministry at the time. As much as he believed that official Ministry functions were nothing but an excuse for Ministry officials to show off and to preen their latest involvement in various projects or charity causes, Draco attended the functions nonetheless as part of his efforts to repair the damage his Father had done to the family name; he wanted the wizarding world to know that not all Malfoys gained respect by frauds and lording over others with obscene amount of money. _

_Draco was lounging by the fruit punch bowl when he spotted Potter approaching the table, no doubt looking for a drink after being tousled by various Ministry officials. While it had been Harry's testimony that had saved Draco and his Mother from Azkaban, Draco hadn't had the chance to thank Harry properly for what he had done. And it definitely couldn't hurt to talk to the man—he was fit, handsome and had a personality that piqued Draco's interest. Draco was aware that he was attracted to Potter ever since he discovered that girls turned him off, and that he was more interested in dating men than women. But Draco knew he had no chance with Potter; while the rumour mills had it that Potter was also batting for the same team, Draco had no way of knowing if those rumours are true or if they were just another rumour flying about the Saviour's personal life. _

"_Hey Potter," Draco greeted Potter in his usual Malfoy drawl. _

"_Oh, hi Malfoy. Fancy seeing you here," Harry greeted Draco back, taking in the blond for the first time in years. It seems that life had been treating Draco well; he had grown up from the scrawny git that Harry went to school with. Draco was tall, with platinum blond hair that seem to glow. The silver dress robes that Draco wore that night accentuated his silver eyes, and it showed off all the right parts of his body. He still had the familiar proud, arrogant look and smirk from his school days, but gone was his mean streak towards people. Harry was immediately attracted to Draco…at least in the physical sense._

"_Fancy seeing you here too, Potter. Listen, I just want to thank you for getting my Mother and me from serving a sentence in Azkaban. I know what we did during the war wasn't anything to be proud of, but I'm grateful for your testimony. I never did have the chance to properly thank you for the testimony, and tonight seem to be the perfect place for it,"_

"_No problem Malfoy. From the visions I experience from my connection with Voldemort, I could tell that you didn't want to be involved in it any more than your Mother did. It was your Father and Bellatrix who were eager for Voldemort to play host in your ancestral home, and it was them who supported his cause. And you saved me, Ron and Hermione by not identifying us at the Manor, and your Mother lied to Voldemort for me. While I am sure that your actions were self-serving, it was still an act of kindness, and the least that I could do for you and your Mother was to bring justice to those who deserve to be punished by law,"_

"_Please call me Draco; I think we're beyond our schoolboy rivalry by now. If you don't mind, I'd like to start afresh with you, and bury the hatchet,"_

"_I'd like that Draco. Please call me Harry, I'm pleased to meet you," and with that Harry took Draco's hand and shook it, feeling a pleasant shock that spread throughout his body. He had spent the rest of the evening by Draco's side, and found that he enjoyed the blond's company very much. _

From that night on, Draco and Harry owled each other regularly, and began to meet for drinks and Quidditch matches. Soon they discovered that the attraction that each had for the other was mutual, and gradually they began to date. Soon they were spending long stretches at each other's flats, and a year into the relationship, bought a place together to share. Sure, there were periods of coldness between the two of them—both were stubborn and refused to be the first to back down from a fight. But they always made it up to each other in the end; each fight having made their relationship stronger than before. Harry felt that Draco is the man of his life, and would like to cement their relationship permanently with a commitment to each other. The only problem was, he didn't know how Draco feel about that, and now wasn't a good time to bring that up with Draco.

Snapping his thoughts back to Draco and the romantic evening Harry had planned out for the two of them tonight, Harry glanced at the clock. Draco should be home any minute now, and as if that thought materialized itself, Harry heard the Floo ring and out stepped Draco into the living room.

Harry approached Draco and circled Draco into a warm embrace. Draco smelled of mint, cinnamon and a scent that Harry had categorized as uniquely Draco. Kissing Draco on the forehead, Harry marvelled at the simplicity and bliss in their relationship.

"Harry! Were you waiting for me? Am I late for something? Did we agree to go out on a date or for dinner? I'm terribly sorry if I'm late for anything…" Draco babbled on, mentally cursing himself for not checking his calendar before leaving for work this morning. He may have issues with Gringotts right now, but Harry was still the priority in his life.

"No Dray, but I do have an evening planned out for us, starting with a candle light dinner for two. And if you're up for it, we can have dessert…of the adult variety," Taking Draco by the hand, Harry led Draco to the kitchen, where the table set up by Harry sat waiting for them.

"Oh Harry, I don't know what to say. You're so good to me, even with what's happening in my life. I love you, so much." Draco kissed Harry deeply, licking Harry's lips, asking for permission for entrance. Hands roamed, and soon, both were breathless, with matching flushed expressions on their faces. Harry could feel bulging hardness between the two of them, and he moaned breathily.

"You know what Harry…I think I'm up for the dessert that you were talking about earlier…" With that, Draco apparated them up to their bedroom, and proceeded to demonstrate to Harry just how much he loved him.

They never did make it down to have dinner that night.


End file.
